Miss Moneypenny
Miss Moneypenny, is a fictional character in the James Bond novels and films. She is secretary to M, who is Bond's boss and head of the British Secret Service (MI6). Although she has a small part in the films, it is always highlighted by the underscored romantic tension between her and Bond (something that is virtually nonexistent in Ian Fleming's novels, though somewhat more apparent in the Bond novels of John Gardner and Raymond Benson). On that note, she is not always considered to be a Bond girl, having never had anything more than a professional relationship with Bond, to her dismay. According to the movie You Only Live Twice, she holds the rank of Second Officer in the Women's Royal Naval Service. To date she has been portrayed by Lois Maxwell, Caroline Bliss and Samantha Bond. Novels In Ian Fleming's first draft of Casino Royale, Moneypenny's name was originally "Miss 'Petty' Pettaval", which was taken from Kathleen Pettigrew, the personal assistant to MI6 director Stewart Menzies. Fleming changed it to be less obvious. In Andrew Lycett's Ian Fleming, he discloses the source of the name "Miss Moneypenny", to be the name of a character in an unpublished novel by Fleming's brother, Peter. Other candidates for Moneypenny's inspiration include Vera Atkins of Special Operations Executive; Paddy Ridsdale, a Naval Intelligence secretary; and Joan Bright Astley, whom Fleming dated during World War II, and who was noted for giving a warm and friendly reception to senior officers who visited her office to view confidential papers. Miss Moneypenny is the confidential clerk and private secretary to M, the head of MI6. She holds the rank of Lieutenant RN, which is a prerequisite rank for this position. She is cleared for Top-Secret, Eyes-Only and Cabinet-Level intelligence reports, the latter of which she is often required to prepare, and in some cases present. M's personal assistant is utterly dedicated to her work, which means she has little time for a social life. A close confidante of her boss, she also enjoys a flirtatious — though never consummated — relationship with 007, whom she understands perfectly. In both the Bond novels and films based upon them, Moneypenny is smitten with Bond. For example, in the novel Thunderball, Fleming wrote that she "often dreamed hopelessly about Bond." However, she never vocalizes these feelings. Miss Moneypenny's role in Fleming's novels is generally even smaller than that of her role in the films. In the novels, Bond also has his own secretary, Loelia Ponsonby and later Mary Goodnight, both of which often had their lines and relationships transferred to Miss Moneypenny for the films. Since the character's first appearance in Casino Royale, neither Fleming nor any succeeding Bond novelist or screenwriter had ever seen fit to give Moneypenny a first name. In a few of the books and at least one film, Bond refers to her by the nickname "Penny" (a shortened version of her last name). The Moneypenny Diaries officially gives her a first name: Jane. On October 10, 2005, John Murray published the first of three Ian Fleming Publications' sanctioned novels, written by Samantha Weinberg under the pseudonym Kate Westbrook, entitled The Moneypenny Diaries, a trilogy from the point of view of Miss Moneypenny. EON Films Moneypenny has been played by three different actresses in the official Eon film series: Lois Maxwell: 1962-1984 The first actress to portray M's secretary on the big screen was Lois Maxwell. She lobbied for the role in the first official James Bond film Dr. No (1962), as her husband had had a heart attack and they needed the money. Director Terence Young, who once had turned her down on the grounds that she looked like she "smelled of soap", offered her either Moneypenny or the recurring role of Bond's girlfriend, Sylvia Trench, but she was uncomfortable with a revealing scene in the screenplay and opted for the character of Miss Moneypenny. The role as M's secretary guaranteed just two days' work at £100 a day; Maxwell supplied her own clothes. In 1971, Maxwell was nearly replaced for Diamonds Are Forever after demanding a pay raise; her policewoman's cap disguises hair she had already dyed for another role. However she continued in the role, as her former classmate Roger Moore took over the part of 007 in Live and Let Die. For the filming of A View to a Kill (1985), her final appearance, Bond producer Cubby Broccoli told her that the two of them were the only ones from Dr. No still working on the series. Maxwell asked that her character be killed off, but Broccoli recast the role instead. Her final Bond film was also Moore's last outing. As a rule, Moneypenny generally never directly participates in Bond's missions, although there have been a few exceptions in both film and literature (most notably Diamonds Are Forever, in which she disguises herself as a customs agent to help send Bond on his mission). In Octopussy ''(1983), Moneypenny has an assistant named Penelope Smallbone, who appears to be equally smitten with Bond, despite a "thorough briefing" on the subject by Moneypenny. Apparently intended as either a foil or a replacement for Moneypenny, Smallbone appeared only once. Caroline Bliss: 1987-1989 Following Lois Maxwell's departure from the series in 1984, a new Moneypenny was chosen to star alongside the new James Bond, Timothy Dalton. At the age of 26, Caroline Bliss replaced the long-standing Lois Maxwell in the films ''The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill. When Dalton's tenure as Bond came to an end, the role of Miss Moneypenny was recast to - unbeknownst to casting director Debbie McWilliams - Bliss' childhood friend, Samantha Bond. The pair had been friends since they both were eleven years old. Not expecting to return after the departure of Timothy Dalton anyway, Caroline harbored no ill feelings towards her friend, saying: "I am just glad it has gone to someone I love and who needs the money!" Samantha Bond: 1995-2002 In 1995 Samantha Bond took over the role of Miss Moneypenny for the film GoldenEye. In keeping with the post-Cold War tone of GoldenEye, Bond's Moneypenny is portrayed as more feisty than previous incarnations of the character and just as capable of keeping pace with Bond's witticisms. After Pierce Brosnan disclosed that he would not be returning to the role of James Bond in 2004, Samantha Bond also stated she would not be returning, feeling that her Moneypenny was closely linked to Brosnan's Bond. On October 14, 2005 at an official press conference, Bond producer Michael G. Wilson announced Miss Moneypenny and Q, two staples in virtually every Bond film, were not in the current draft of the script of the latest iteration of the Bond franchise, Casino Royale. Miss Moneypenny does not appear in the film, nor does she appear in Quantum of Solace. Trivia *In 1967, Maxwell angered Sean Connery for a time by appearing in the Italian spy spoof Operation Kid Brother with the star's brother Neil Connery and Bernard Lee. *In a commercial for London's 2012 Olympic bid, Samantha Bond once again suited up as Miss Moneypenny. She appeared alongside Roger Moore, who played 007 between 1973-1985. *Though she does not appear in the 2006 Bond film, Casino Royale (the first James Bond film in which she doesn't appear), a reference arises in a scene between Bond and Vesper Lynd. In the scene, Vesper appears for the first time introducing herself with "I'm the money" (referring to her role as a Treasury accountant), to which Bond replies, while looking her over, "Every penny of it." Gallery See also * List of James Bond allies Moneypenny